Isn't She Lovely?
by Scruff the Rat
Summary: How would life for the Jungle Cubs be like if a new face were added to the mix? A new girl, in fact? And how exactly would the new girl affect not only the boys' daily lives but futures as well? BalooxRebecca, some one-sided LouiexRebecca
1. Surprise Guest

**Originally, I was going to have Rebecca's voice be the voice actor of Angelica Pickles. However, I've just now started thinking how all the Jungle Cub characters were slightly different in personality compared to their older selves. Therefore, I've decided that Rebecca will be a similar case. For that reason, I'm going to have her voiced by Catherine Cadavini, the voice of Blossom from the Powerpuff Girls. Meanwhile, Olivia Hack, the voice of Rhonda Lloyd (Hey Arnold!) will be the voice of teenage Becky. Don't worry, though. Rebecca will still grow up to be the bearess we've grown so used to. **

**Rebecca, Baloo, and all other characters canon to The Jungle Book and/or Jungle Cubs and/or Talespin belong to Disney.**

* * *

Whoa...this place...was huger than she had originally thought!

Indeed, all around the preteen cinnamon bearess, the dark green canopy of the jungle stretched far above to the cloud-patched, azure heavens. No doubt the deep, Indian greenery extended to far beyond the horizon, perhaps reaching all the way to the Wastelands as well.

'_I-I don't know where to start!'_

So many places to see, places to go to...! Oh if only she didn't have to worry about Daddy...She loved him sure, but sometimes he could be such an old fuddy-duddy.

'_Then again, I'm not much one to talk, am I?' _

Ironically, when the male ursine had notified his only daughter of their upcoming transfer, the young woman had felt nothing but disheartening anxiety. She knew that the jungle in which her birth took place had shrunk over the years due to the extensive and damaging influence of the humans with whom the native fauna had had no choice but to coexist.

However, when the food—both living and plant—began its drastic plummet and after certain..."losses" occurred, Rebecca and her father had had no other option but to migrate to another part of India.

The journey, to say the least, made no favors for the distraught cub and her already stirred peace of mind. Fortunately, her father's firm but loving coaxing and the assurance of finding happiness and friends gave her the courage and incentive necessary to defy life's misfortunes and continue forth.

So imagine the young female's awe immense relief the moment she and her father, after weeks of grueling travel, finally emerged into the same warm, welcoming sunlight with which she had fallen in love after only seconds.

As for the sheer size of the place...well, let's just say the little one, in spite of her somewhat timid disposition, was a bit of an adventurer at heart. The idea of not exploring this new home just seemed..._preposterous _to say least!

"Now where do I start?" the cub mumbled to herself, tapping a claw to her delicate chin.

Oh decisions, decision, decisions...

A sudden growl from nearby made the peach-bellied youth jump and shoot her eyes' vision all over her surroundings...two actions that quickly brought a blush to her cheeks as soon as she realized what the source had been: her stomach.

'_Whew, I haven't had a bite to eat since yesterday!'_ No kidding—her father, though devout and sweet, had been unable to care for his child as of late due to a leg injury a hungry (though thankfully "dissuadable") tiger had given him a day or two ago. As a result, the older male's ability to gather food became severely restricted. His daughter, thanks to the first aid lessons he and his late wife had taught her, had done surprisingly well in taking care of his cuts and bleeds, but he had insisted on finding a medicine woman about his wounds.

So as of right now, the bearess and her single parent were currently living with a fairly aged but energetic and kind lady bear, one with just the right medical skills that the papa ursine needed for his injuries. The two travelers encountered the woman just yesterday; unfortunately, by the time they'd found her, night had long since fallen. Luckily, the female hermit had offered a place for the male ursine and his cub to stay for the night.

Too bad, though, that the two out-of-towners had been too tired to even think about eating anything before crashing for the night...

It also didn't help that the cub had kind of rushed through breakfast, much to her father's concern and annoyance. Her curiosity simply got the best of her.

'_Stupid curiosity...'_

Well regardless of _who_ had been the stupid one, the girl cub herself was the one who'd have to suffer the consequences of her own carelessness. She held her stomach as the growling intensified.

'_There __**has**__ to be some decent food around here!'_

In fact, the cub was just on the verge of searching for nourishment...or at least she would have been...if her keen ears had never caught a scratchy, baritone voice drifting along the breeze.

"Look for the..._bear_ necessities, the simple bear ne_cess_ities..."

'_Huh, who is __**that**__?'_ Curiosity had the girl in its jaws like a steel trap; hunger forgotten for now, the interested cub slowly but deliberately followed the voice, making sure to watch her step but, at the same time, also making dead sure not to lose track of the singing.

"Forget a-_bout _your _wo_rries and your strife..."

Following the sound, however, thankfully proved easier and simpler than the bearess anticipated. She didn't need to take long to discover that the owner of the singing voice had been not only going alongside the same trail she was on but barely a piece away from it as well—only the wall of trees and expansive leaves blocked her view of him. In addition, the sound of noisily running water clued the bearess in on the mysterious singer's mode of, ahem, transportation.

'_Now if only I could find a good spot...'_ wondered the girl in slight frustration. True, she wanted a glimpse of whoever was singing so harmoniously and, more importantly for that matter, insouciantly. However, she wasn't too keen on the idea of upsetting anybody, especially on her first day in this jungle. Eventually, she found a spot from where, if silent enough, she could catch a glance of the vocalist responsible without revealing herself...

That's when she saw him. Granted, he wasn't earth-shaking huge due to his young age—he was approximately only a head taller than the female cub watching him—but the girl knew better. One day, that boy would indubitably grow to be a giant!

Still, however, the boy was considerably large nonetheless; the red nose and light grey underbelly and snout seemed to only _emphasize_ that fact.

"Wow..." She thought the boy sounded carefree before...but looking at him now...

Eyes closed in bliss, a simple grin, legs stretched out, beefy hands situated snugly behind his large, fluffy head—he looked beyond calm and content—more so than any animal the bearess had ever met! Coppery evening sunlight streaked through the neon green jungle leaves, landing upon the bear's greyish blue fur and causing it to cast a metallic sheen in the dimming twilight.

"Hey, Baloo...!"

Both bears shifted their eyes in the direction of the loud voice. Out of nowhere, a small orangutan with floppy Elvis-style hair and a bare, peach underbelly swung down on a vine from the leafy ceiling of the looming canopy, making sure to perform ostentatious flips in the air as he leapt from vine to vine.

The addressed—Baloo—however, unlike his "audience", did not bat an eye at the off-kilter greeting in the slightest. In fact, he ceased his progress in the river and chortled in good nature.

'_Baloo...?' _the girl mused in heartfelt amusement._ 'What a funny name!'_

"Well if it ain't my number one primate! What's up, Lou?"

The chipper primate performed some more impressive, albeit rather flashy, feats of agility among the vines before responding. "You mean aside from _moi_? Not—much...!"

In contrast to the responding guffawing that instantly possessed the two jokers, the cinnamon ursine had to roll her eyes a bit at the corniness of the ape's joke.

On the other hand, she also couldn't keep herself from giggling a bit at how goofy these boys were.

'_They actually look kinda sweet even!'_

Unfortunately, she misjudged the loudness of said giggling. The volume itself shocked the orangutan significantly enough to the point that his toes, the only phalanges keeping the primate suspended, slipped from the branch.

Needless to say, Baloo, much to his own sudden and temporary chagrin, ended up as Louie's personal landing pad. Rebecca had to wince at the giant splash the boys generated.

Two drenched heads broke the surface of the river only moments later.

"What was that!?" squawked a startled Louie after spewing out a mouthful of river water.

Baloo coughed out inhaled water before responding. "I don' know...sounded pretty close, though."

There wasn't a soul in sight, however. _'Well, noises don't come outta nowhere,' _thought Louie as he scanned the nearby foliage of tattle-tell signs of "peeping peeps."

And sure enough Louie must had caught one of those signs in time on account of the fact that his eyes were intently focused on a particular spot—a particular _girl's _spot.

"Hmm...," hummed the young orangutan as he narrowed his eyes.

A curious Baloo could not help but ask, "See sumthin'?"

Louie shushed his companion with a hand and resorted to whispering—hey, no sense in eliminating the element of surprise, right? "Don't look now...but I think somebody's tryin' to _oust_ us outta our spot!"

Baloo used his eyes to follow his best friend's finger in the direction in which it was pointed. Sure enough, the rotund ursine saw some leaves on the right side of the river just finish rustling.

"Well now," stated the bear cub pointedly, "can't have _that_, can we?"

The two boys shared a significant look…then an evil smirk.

Baloo raised an eyebrow deviously. "You thinkin' what_ I'm_ thinkin'?"

* * *

'_Oh me and my big mouth...!'_ the girl mentally ranted to herself. Oh, how could she have been so reckless? Now those two boys were_ sure_ to be on to her!

Okay, okay, no need to panic...

'_Just calm down first Rebecca...just calm down...'_

The young bearess closed her eyes and took some deep, cleansing breaths—a method her father taught her.

'_There... much better...' _Satisfied at the feeling of fortified self-control, Rebecca sneaked over to a different hole in the bushes through which she could glance at the river...

Only to find that the other bear and his primate friend were gone now...Rebecca rubbed her eyes twice to self-confirm the reality of this new development.

'_That's weird...Where'd they go?' _she asked herself as her eyebrows furrowed in utter confusion.

"Gotcha!" sprang a voice from above!

Rebecca spun where she stood and came nose to nose with some creature's haunting, beady eyes.

"AHH!" she screamed!

"AHH!" The creature—Louie— screamed back, falling down from his branch for the second time that day!

"I'm comin', Lou, old buddy!"

Then out of nowhere, a meaty hand shot over Rebecca's right shoulder...and the poor girl, fearing the worst, grabbed it instantaneously and slung the hand's owner over her shoulder and landed him right on top of Louie!

"HI-YAH...!"

"AHH...!"

Needless to say, Baloo and Louie had gotten quite a bit of the wind knocked out of them.

Baloo, groaning and rubbing his aching head, _'Not our best of ideas...'_

"Oh, my _head_...Man, that's some serious upper body strength ya got there." The rotund cub looked up irritably. He was kind of impressed, too, though, at the cinnamon bearess's muscle. Even Haiti, the strongest of the Jungle Cubs save for perhaps Shere Khan, sometimes had trouble lifting the heavyweight cub.

"W-well, I'm sorry," Rebecca ended up stuttering, not believing that she had just attacked someone on her first day! However, she quickly regained her composure as she attempted to frown sternly, "but... _you_ guys sneaked up on me!"

Inside, though, the girl was quaking a bit. _'Oh boy, __**now **__you've done it, Rebecca!'_

Indeed, Baloo, standing upright once more and hands akimbo, still appeared fairly sour.

Louie, on the other hand...

"Woo-hoo-wee!" the spunky primate cheered as he hopped up and down for some inexplicable reason. "I gotta say. Don't see too many dames your size who can toss a 1 ton bear the way _you_ did."

Little Rebecca couldn't believe her ears at first. "R-really...?"

Neither could Baloo believe his own for that matter, his irritation momentarily gone. "Really...?"

But then he registered the rest of Louie's comment.

"Hey, now just hold a sec, I ain't _that_ heavy!" the grey cub complained with a scowl. Then he paused for second as if in deep thought. "Okay, so maybe I put on a few extra pounds during the summer months. Can I _help it_ if hibernation needs a little extra baggage outta me?"

The petite bearess tried her best to cover her mouth in order to stem her chortling. This Baloo character was even funnier than she thought!

"Swell, now even the new kid's laughin' at me!" the grey cub remarked lightheartedly, nothing to hide that contagious smile on his muzzle.

"Not our fault if you can't cut out the comedy!" Louie chortled along with the new girl as he leapt onto a low-lying branch and lounged against its trunk.

Baloo gave his friend a mock glare, even though his playful smile kind of ruined the effect. "Hah, hah, hah, ve-heh-heh-ry funny...!"

All of a sudden, the girl bearess shook her head, now remembering that everyone needed to be on a first name basis. "I'm sorry. My name's Rebecca. My family and I just moved here...," she twiddled her fingers and dug into the ground with her foot before continuing, "a- and I was hoping someone could show me around. Maybe help me get acquainted with the locals...?"

Louie, a pensive look on his face, hopped down from his branch to converse with Rebecca face to face. "Well...I don't know. We usually don't mingle with those of the...opposite persua—shee—on."

Baloo had been certain the lady cub would have scoffed indignantly and stalked off by now, much like how Winifred did after the boys' first encounter with _her_.

Rebecca, however, was a gal of another color; she quickly and eagerly raised her right hand and put her left hand over her heart.

"I won't cause you guys any trouble! I promise!"

Louie hummed in deep thought and rubbed the underside of his long face. _'Welp, the chick sure looks eager to join. Not sure how well she'll do with the rest of the guys, though.'_

"Hmm...whada _you_ think, Baloo?" The auburn primate shifted his vision to his ursine friend…only to find said ursine in a most perplexing state.

Right now, Baloo stood perfectly erect, just like a stone pillar— mouth widely agape, arms to his sides, and eyes bugged out considerably! No sound save for a light, strangled sounding gasp escaped his lips.

At this point, Louie felt a considerable level of worry for the larger mammal child.

"Baloo...?"

"Baloo...?" Rebecca, too, couldn't deny sense of concern towards Baloo's wide-eyed expression…especially since it was being directed in _her _direction.

'_He's looking at me like I'm some sort of ghost. Do I remind him of someone he's scared of?'_ If there was one type of person Rebecca never wished to be, it was a bully.

"Hmm...?" Baloo mumbled distractedly, shaking his head and blinking his eyes obliviously. "What was that?"

"Sheesh, buddy, get in between those ears a bit," the primate chided jokingly, a dash of his unease still detectable to the untrained ear, "I said 'whada ya think?' Think she's 'Lair' material?"

At these words, Baloo finally snapped himself out of his self-induced trance and replied in a hurried and jumpy tone of voice. "Oh...! Uh, yeah, yeah, yeah...whateva' ya say, Lou." The grey cub punctuated the statement with a laugh full of obviously fake cheer.

Rebecca awkwardly returned the forced expression but leaned down to the side to whisper to Louie, hand cupped to her mouth so Baloo couldn't hear. "What's wrong with him?"

Louie cupped his own hand to his mouth and utilized the same volume as the bearess. "Don't know. Last time we met a girl, he _never_ acted like that!"

The orangutan and bearess merely shared a look before the former took a step forward and waved a hand in front of his friend's face. "Um..._Ba-_loo...? You okay?"

"WHO? ME? I-I'm just dandy pandy, Louie!" As one can imagine, such a blurted response sent the startled primate back a step.

Rebecca, too, jumped at the edgy behavior of the male ursine. _'Man, this guy is sweet, but he is so weird.'_

Meanwhile, Louie, having recovered from the slight shock, attempted a second time at reaching his out-of-sorts companion. "Uh, sorry for the new flash, buddy, but, uh..._I'm_ Louie."

At last, Baloo, widened for a moment at the realization of his uncharacteristic behavior, grinned and responded with dismissive hands, his usual laidback tone back in place. "Ah, I knew that! I'm just pullin' your legs, guys!" And with those words of assurance spoken, the pudgy cub gestured a hand wave to signal Rebecca and Louie to follow him; the two remaining animals accordingly followed suit...though not without some final comments.

Rebecca, "He's a little odd, isn't he?"

Louie, smirking smartly, "Trust me, sister. You just wait 'til later."

* * *

**Clear, honest reviews...? Please and thank you!**


	2. One of the Boys

**Rebecca, Baloo and all Jungle Cub/Talespin characters, along with any related canon elements, belong to Disney.**

* * *

She had to admit. These guys had one heck of a clubhouse! All the crumbling stones and cryptic images seemed to be part of some ancient ruins. Everywhere around the young girl, dark green vines embraced the stonework and entangled each other, forming a plethora of locations from which to "hang around" (so to speak). Speaking of vines, an orange figure whizzed from right out of the blue and nearly grazed the top of Rebecca's hair, not quite startling her but certainly grabbing her attention rather quickly and effectively. The orange figure—Louie, to be exact—somersaulted in mid-air before landing his haunch expertly into the stone throne that stood in the far end of the clubhouse, opposite of the makeshift entrance in which Rebecca stood.

"Whadaya think, Becky? Pretty impressive if I do say so myself...!" Louie was leaning back in the throne, hands behind his head.

Rebecca meekly nodded, still shocked by the rustic grandeur of her surroundings. She returned her attention to the young primate. "So you guys have this _whole_ place to yourselves?"

"You betcha!" The orangutan winked with a smug grin on his face. He then grabbed a banana from a fruit pile that Rebecca just noticed to be lying next to the throne. Louie stripped the entire peel from the banana in one go and discarded it by tossing it onto the floor. Yet before he could indulge himself, a shrilly voice interrupted him.

"Lou-_ie_! You know much work I put into keeping this place in order!" Out from under an arch composed of fallen pillars, a brownish-red elephant with a prominent scowl marched right up to Louie's throne and fixed a stern glare on the guilty party. Rebecca couldn't help but notice how the pachyderm held a makeshift feather-duster in his trunk.

Luckily for Louie, however, a particular grinning, grey-furred cub came to the rescue by coming up to the elephant from behind and wrapping a hefty arm around his shoulders, instantly grabbing the larger mammal's attention.

"Ah, lighten up Haiti! This place is _always_ gettin' dirty!" Louie returned the cub's smile and nodded in agreement. "Besides, you don't wanna give Becky Smecky the wrong impression, do ya?"

The elephant—Haiti—stared at Baloo as if the bear's head had just jumped clear off his shoulders. "Baloo, who on Earth are you talking about? "

A clawed finger found its way to Haiti's left shoulder and tapped it, bringing the pachyderm's attention to a certain bearess.

"Um…hi?" Rebecca waved shyly, unsure at how this elephant would react to her being here.

A few moments of silence passed before Haiti, never taking his eyes off the female cub, slowly asked, "Uh, Baloo...?"

"Yeah, Haiti...?"

"I'm not sure if you've noticed, but...," a trunk pointed to Rebecca, "there's a girl in the Lair."

Baloo and Rebecca shared a blank look before the former turned his attention back to his friend. "Uh...yeah...? What's your point?"

"Baloo...!"

Louie hopped from his seat before a full-blown fight could escalate. "Easy, Hait...! Rebecca won't cause nobody trouble! She even swore on it!"

Rebecca, "Yeah! I'm not like other girls!"

Haiti had skepticism all over his face as he walked around the newcomer in a circle. "Hmm...I—still don't know."

Baloo perked up and snapped his fingers. "I got it! We just need an initiation! That oughta settle things!"

Louie put a hand to his chin. That idea sounded perfect but... "Question is: what will it be?"

"May we make a suggestion?" a creaky voice from somewhere above sounded. All four heads looked upwards to find a medium-length green and brown python coiled around a nearby pillar. Next to him was a tiny panther cub that regarded Rebecca with distrustful eyes and jumped down to ground floor. Following suit, the more friendly-looking reptile worked his way down from his spot to the ground and then slithered up to the trio before continuing.

"There's a mudslide near the river that someone found last week; the _whole_ jungle's been buzzing about it—all sorts of twists and turns. Why, some say it even has underground tunnels! It's practically the ultimate jungle slide!"

All the kids who hadn't known this information beforehand awed with hushed breaths, Rebecca especially. _'It sounds really fun! Now I actually can't __**wait **__to get this initiation started!'_

Bagheera noticed her enthusiasm and shot a raised eyebrow and nasty smirk at the female bear. "Yeah, and some say it's impossible to go down it without getting all filthy. Still sure you're up to it?"

If the panther cub thought he could shake up Rebecca's determination, he was sadly mistaken. Rather than recoil into her usual timidity, Rebecca puffed up her chest and huffed with dignity. "Oh, I'm still up to it, alright." Then to the sudden confusion of all the boys, Rebecca smirked back at Bagheera. "Or were you just saying what you said 'cuz _you're _too chicken to go down the slide yourself?"

"Oh!" all the cubs sans the panther exclaimed, taken back speechlessly by the new girl's unforeseen boldness. None, however, was more shocked than the now wide-eyed Bagheera.

"H-Hey, I'm not scared!"

"Then how about this? You guys can make my initiation into a race—me vs. the panther. If I win, I get to join your group. If the cat wins, then I won't _ever _bother you boys again."

Bagheera, grinning proudly, extended a paw to the bearess. "Alright, then, I accept your challenge!"

Rebecca responded in kind by shaking his paw in respect. "May the best animal win!"


	3. Meet Khan

**Worry not, folks! We'll get to the race next in due time! But first, we need to introduce Little Miss Rebecca to a certain tiger first. Yes, I know: 'how mean of me,' but this chapter is necessary, regardless. You can't have an extra-awesome Jungle Cubs adventure if not all the cubs are present.**

**Rebecca, Baloo, and all other characters canon to The Jungle Book and/or Jungle Cubs and/or Talespin belong to Disney.**

* * *

"And _where_ do you all think _you're_ going?"

Only two words coursed like a raging river through the boys' heads at the icy, snarky voice as everyone simultaneously shifted his or her eyes and noggin to the open entrance: _'Uh oh.'_

Yes, that's right. Standing dead-smack center in the Lair's entry way, typical smirk on his white muzzle, Shere Khan regarded his peers with his characteristic arrogant superiority; even the way his tail swished through the air permeated the air with smug poise. Excitement about the upcoming race crammed temporarily into the back of their minds, Baloo and the rest of the guys now had a sense of dread...though not exactly for their own well-being.

No matter what anyone else said, Khan, true to his self-proclaimed ways, believed, since he will be the apex predator of this jungle one day, that the tropical realm in which he and his friends lived belonged to him, including the Lair. As such, the striped feline firmly held in his mind the belief that he should _never_ be the last one to know when a newcomer has arrived in the jungle—just like with the two wolves and the mongoose. **(1)** Even worse, Khan, needless to say, could easily lose his temper should he so much as suspect his authority being threatened, taunted, or ignored. Unfortunately, the original Jungle Cubs feared that they had just committed the exact transgression of disregarding their petulant and perilous associate.

Unless he's targeted you for food, you are to never ignore Shere Khan...ever...

The one who should have been alarmed the most, however, was Rebecca. _She_ was the newcomer here. _She_ would have to be the one to answer to Shere Khan for her, indubitably in the tiger's inevitable opinion, unwarranted presence in the hang-out. Yet she only stared at the tiger cub in a mixture of confusion, curiosity, and a dash of apprehension. She had heard her father's countless warnings about tigers before, but the bearess never thought, much less expected, that she'd ever meet one of these feared cats in person, even if it was merely a child one.

The boys, on the other hand, more familiar with Khan and his ways of intimidation, actually felt sorry for Rebecca. She'd only been in this jungle for one day and already she'd have to have her first experience enduring the wrath of Shere Khan himself. Even Bagheera, despite his obvious dislike for the girl, couldn't help a touch of pity for the female cub. No one deserved to be on the receiving end of Khan's threats; they were even worse than his snotty bragging—Baggy knew _exactly_ what he meant from experience.

Louie, preferring to commence with the initiation while daylight still persisted and heavily disliking the negative vibes radiating between Becky and Khan, figured that the easiest way out would have to be faking out, so he plastered a humongous, cheesy grin on his face as he casually trudged up to the striped feline. "Hey, Khan, we were starting to worry you'd miss out!"

Khan merely raised an eyebrow. Deep down, he felt interested, but he didn't dare reveal that feeling to_ these_ guys—he had a reputation, after all. "Miss out? On _what_, dare I ask?" he inquired with his brand of cool, disinterested attention.

Bagheera suddenly smirked as he pointed a paw to Rebecca, who was standing almost directly behind him. "What else? On the _newbie's_ initiation!"

Rebecca huffed in response at the panther's backhanded explanation. Well, _his_ sympathy certainly didn't last long.

Khan lost his glare and blankly stared at Bagheera in genuine befuddlement before finally landing his sights on Rebecca. The small bearess fidgeted a bit under the tiger's fiery stare, but attempted her best personal effort to appear unaffected and stoic.

Her voice refused to cooperate.

"Um...h-hi...heh..." she piped up tersely yet shyly, her paw waving in meek greeting.

"Baloo...who is _this_?" As far as Shere knew, only Baloo would have been dim-witted enough to bring a new face here without checking up with him first. Well, actually, Khan considered _all _of the guys dim-witted, but that was beside the point.

"Simmer down, Khannie! Cut Becky here some slack," the grey cub assured as he slung a thick arm around Rebecca's shoulder to help her stay calm in the tiger's unnerving presence. "She just moved in with her folks and was about ready to get initiated."

Khan raised an eyebrow, evidently satisfied _someone_ had finally elaborated on this unanticipated situation. _'Of course... there's still __**one**__ more thing that needs to be done.' _The tiger cub gruffly cleared his throat, his sharp teeth's gleaming flagrantly apparent in the harsh, simmering sunlight, and strode in easy-going glides towards the girl with all the sinuous grace tigers were both revered and feared for.

Rebecca tried her hardest not to go blind—well, blind_er_ than she already felt. _'Ugh, what the heck did he smack onto his teeth this morning?!' _

"Well, since you're new here, _Rebecca_, allow me to set a few ground rules first."

"...um, sure..." She figured she might as well hear what the nice kitty with the deadly sharp claws had to say. She noticed out of the corner of her eye Baloo removing his arm from around her but still remaining close by her side. She didn't openly nor audibly acknowledge the action, lest one of the larger cub's friends noticed and made fun of the two bears for it, but at least allowed her newfound confidence, birthed by Baloo's consideration, to peek out a sliver, even as Khan sauntered pass the other cubs and right up to her, a mean and prominent grin on his face.

"Rule one: respect the mighty Khan (he gestured a paw to his chest)—that's me—at all times. After all..." And just when Rebecca thought Khan had been close enough to spook her, all of a sudden she found him right in her face, his teeth gleaming even more than before in the bright sunlight, a quality that only added to their already menacing appearance. The smirking Khan seemed to be delighting in the poor girl's reaction. "One day, this cub _will _be a force to be reckoned with."

And then he backed up, feeling his point having been made well enough, lifted one of his paws, and stuck two fingers in the air. "Rule two: Whatever I say goes—no 'what ifs,' no 'ors,' no 'how abouts,' and certainly no—OOF!"

That punctuating interjection was a result of Baloo heaving his hefty hiney on top of the distracted feline.

"You were saying, Khannie?" Baloo didn't even _try_ to hide his amused grin at the sight of the struggling Khan...nor did he miss the crowing of his fellow Jungle Cubs and Rebecca's bubbly tittering.

"Get your _oversized_ rump off me!" "Aggravated" would have been an understatement of the anger the flustered tiger felt at being humiliated in such a manner, but right now the heavy bear's weight rendered retaliation utterly impossible. He shot a death glare in hopes that it would convince Baloo into removing himself for the sake of his lifespan.

No such luck—that same, dopey smile did _not_ waver on Baloo's muzzle even in the slightest. The rotund cub waved a finger in the air as if Khan were a baby that had just broken a simple rule concerning manners. "Ah, ah, ah, gotta say the magic word first."

Khan frowned; he felt both unimpressed and unamused. His half-lidded stare into nothing attested that fact quite well. "_Please_ get your oversized rump off me."

As if to irk the feline even further, Baloo put a paw to his own chin and hummed as if he were seriously considering the extra word of, albeit forced, courtesy. "Hmm...Close enough I guess...!"

Baloo hopped back onto his feet, Shere Khan following suit and giving his fur a brief preening. He'd get back at that walking butterball later. Bagheera, however, could only roll his eyes in annoyance as he exclaimed, "Come on, you guys! Are we going to go through with this initiation or not?"

A soft fist bumping him on the right shoulder brought the panther's attention to a confidence-faced Rebecca.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Are you in _that_ much of a hurry to lose?" A childish glare from the ebony feline emanated like heat from a furnace; this chick knew quite well how to grind on an animal's nerves. Luckily, Kaa and Haiti, who had seen more than enough, wisely stood in between the two mammals, thus effectively preventing any more distractions.

Khan merely scoffed at the scene. "Hmph, well, this should be entertaining at the least."

* * *

**Just a reference to the two runaway wolves (whose names escape me) and Mongo the mongoose...**


	4. Test of Heart

**Rebecca, Baloo, and all other characters canon to The Jungle Book and/or Jungle Cubs and/or Talespin belong to Disney.**

* * *

'_Best...slide...ever!'_ Rebecca thought as she dashed down the underground tunnels at breakneck speed. Light from the end streamed further and further the closer the bearess neared it. Eventually its brightness became too much for her eyes to handle, so the little girl shielded her vulnerable pupils with her paws. Before long, the warmth of the jungle sun could be felt on her fur once again. Sensing the slight change in temperature, Rebecca unveiled her eyes...only to gasp at the sight before her.

A spider-web network of near-circular, dug-in trials lay ahead of her in the atmospherically misty distance, cutting under underbrush, foliage, and exposed tree roots high enough for even Haiti to pass beneath without fear of getting clipped in the head. Sunlight streamed through the open gaps of the obstructive canopy, gliding past as translucent blurs alongside the jigsaw shadows as Rebecca continued her descent. Before long, the sound of stagnant water rushed into the ears of the petite cub, alerting her to the "finish line" of this kooky initiation.

In all honesty, a pang of regret actually coursed through Rebecca's heart. To her, a total stranger to this jungle, the thrill should not have been ending so soon. It had no right to end to so soon.

'_Oh...ah well, this race had to end sometime.'_ A little sigh escaped the crestfallen cub...only to be replaced by a surge of confidence! _'Wait a sec, Becky! This is it—your big chance! You gotta keep your wits about yourself if you wanna win!'_

Yeah, that was right! This spunky brunette had come too far to let her feelings stop her now! She'd come to race and, darn it, that was what she set to do—win or lose!

Sucking in a deep breath, Rebecca closed her eyes and braced her body for the upcoming, watery impact.

**SPLASH!**

Before too long, a familiar, furry head emerged from the once tranquil surface and spat out a mouthful of water like a water fountain. Rebecca wiped her eyes and opened them back up to discover her destination: an unfamiliar (at least to her), large-sized grotto. Vines hung down from various, nearby trees whose outlying roots extended into the clear waters to drink their fill. The same, emerald canopy greeted Rebecca after her resurfacing, warm sunlight streaming down through the gaps like draping angelic curtains.

The bearess treading in the water paid the beautiful surroundings no mind. She was too busy laughing in jubilance at her latest accomplishment.

'_I did it! I really did it!'_

"Alright, Beckers!" a familiar baritone voice rang from out of the blue. Rebecca shifted around in the water until she spotted Baloo and the boys (minus Bagheera) dashing—or slithering in Kaa's case—up to the shore. Each and every one of them had grins the likes of which Rebecca had never seen before, even Shere Khan to a certain extent. Were they all really that happy and proud of her?

The mere thought allowed the contagious smile to reach her face as the bearess swam her way to land. After reaching the shore, Rebecca vigorously shook the water off of her body, her emotions still buzzing from the rush of the recent ride. She barely began to dry her hair before two hefty arms wrapped her into a tight yet endearing embrace. If not for the current wave of euphoria washing over her, Rebecca would have complained about being squeezed so hard.

All the around the two bears, accolade and gestures of congrats showered upon Rebecca like crystal rain from the heavens. _'Oh boy, I can't wait to see the look on Bagheera's face!'_

As if somehow in sync with his friend's thoughts, Baloo whooped then exclaimed, "Oh man, Baggy's gonna be _so_ steamed!"

Louis crowed, the sound of his laughter not too dissimilar to the sound for which orangutans and other types of primates were well famous for. "In which case, he might wanna consider sticking around in the water a little longer, ha, ha!"

Before she could stop herself, Rebecca found her lips blurting out, "Just as long as he doesn't make the whole place boil, that is!"

That added comment struck a chord of silence in the laughter, struck through it like a knife through butter. Rebecca instantly feared she had just spoken out of line...until the laughter of her newfound friends, louder and more boisterous than ever before, roared all the more fervently against her tiny eardrums. Soon, the young girl found her own laughter accompanying that of the other Jungle Cubs, the mental image of a steaming Bagheera too hilarious to release without expelling a little humor.

Yes, the Jungle Cubs were certainly in stitches at this point...

All except Kaa—the reptile seemed too focused on something else to join in anymore. Rebecca noticed this odd behavior quickly. "Kaa...what's wrong?"

"Um...Rebecca...was that rock there when you came down?" Kaa curiously inquired with a touch of unsure trepidation, his tail pointing to a strange, lumpy, and large object sticking out of the water. All the other kids, having gradually ceased their resounding chuckles after catching the snake's expression seconds after Rebecca, all spotted the mystery obstruction that lay motionless in the water, too.

'_Wait...what?'_ the petite cub wondered as she tried to locate the target of everyone else's attention. "What rock?"

Shere Khan stepped closer up to the shore and pointed a paw in the direction of the object. "That one—over there..."

Rebecca finally spotted it, but scratched her head, nevertheless, utterly baffled by its unexplained appearance. "Huh...I don't remember seeing that when I came down. If it _had_ been there before, it's a wonder I never hit my head on it." Her father always warned her to stay clear of anything that could be hiding in the water, always warning her about how all sorts of dangerous hazards and creatures could be lying in waiting for the unwary.

She would learn very soon the accuracy of her father's cautionary words.

Without warning at all, the rock moved..._on its own._ No trick of the light, no hallucination brought upon by too much fruit—the rock actually, truly, honest-to-the-gods moved by itself. All the cubs became stone-still at the sight, eyes wider than the Moon itself.

Then the truth hit them the moment the obstruction lifted its head: that green rock was no rock...the cruel gleam and sharp teeth were evidence enough.

"It's a crocodile!" Louie screamed in horror. He and the rest of the cubs gasped as the monster ignored the balking morsels that stood out of its reach and moved itself in position...right under the end of the second slide.

Baloo's eyes expanded even more, only this time in terrified realization. "Baggy!"

Kaa's whole slender body began to violently vibrate from the intense fear incited by the dire situation. "Oh dear, the moment Bagheera reaches the end, that croc will make a snack out of him!"

Haiti, just as terrified, began to trot in place fretfully, his mind a total blank as to what he and the other cubs could do. "W-We have to do something...quick!"

Khan threw his head to the side and snidely scoffed, "Tch, yeah, like what...? Maybe you haven't noticed but almost all of us wouldn't exactly be a match for a croc."

Louie forgot his fear for a moment to throw a dirty glare at the tiger. "What do ya mean 'almost'?"

Baloo gripped his head and groaned in frustration. "Well, we gotta drive that scaly creep-o off somehow!"

As the arguments continued to fly, Rebecca backed up a bit to think of a plan...and then caught sight of a few vines dangling from somewhere high above in the tree branches and trailing along the ground like inanimate snakes. A series of other vines could be seen from Rebecca's vantage point, the ropey foliage following from this shore to the far distant one in a nearly straight line—right in Bagheera's projected path. _'Maybe we __**don't **__have to drive him off.'_

"Becky...?" Baloo knitted his thick eyebrows in both concern and bafflement the moment he, the out of the corners of his eyes, caught the current activity of the bearess. What the heck was Rebecca doing studying plants? Baggy's life was on the line right now! Yet no explanation came from the girl bear as she continued to intently examine the vine in her hands.

'_Hmm...,'_ it looked long enough...seemed strong enough...yes, this one would do just fine! Rebecca smiled to herself before climbing up the face of a nearby boulder, vine coiled around her right shoulder. As the cubs continued watching in confusion, the brave girl uncoiled the rope and tightened her hands on it in a way that she'd have enough slack to swing but also be able to avoid getting caught by the croc's teeth.

'_I hope,'_ she added to herself meekly as she swallowed a lump down her throat. The height of the boulder didn't aid matters in the slightest either. Just as quickly as the fear came, however, it disappeared under a bale of fire that suddenly overtook Rebecca's soul. Before the stunned eyes of the other cubs, the bearess drew a fierce look of determination over her muzzle, more willing to allow the buzzards to have her than let one of her friends be eaten, no matter how much of a jerk he'd been to her.

'_Don't think; just act.'_

So she drew a deep breath...and jumped.

* * *

**Wow, I think I'm starting to improve with these cliffhangers! **


	5. Patch Up

To One Lucky Unicorn:** Thanks for letting me know that "bearess" is not a real word. I'm sorry about that; I didn't even know "sow' could be applied to bears. However, I have another bear story called "Come In, Out of the Darkness" that already uses "bearess" plenty of times, and I've become too used to that word to stop typing it in. Sometimes I make up words to help my imagination and story along. **

**All the same, I'll keep your suggestions in mind. Well-rounded critiques are very helpful, and yours was no exception. And thanks to the rest of you viewers, as well, for your generous reviews!**

**Once again, Baloo, Rebecca, and the rest of the gang belong to Disney.**

* * *

"REBECCA, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

She could hardly hear Baloo's panicked shout over the wind whistling in her ears; all she heard was the telltale sound of Bagheera nearing the end of the slide.

All her eyes saw was the croc's toothy maw, open and ready for its upcoming meal.

And all she felt was the ongoing need to beat time.

* * *

_'Ha, I can't wait to see the look on Rebecca's face when I win!'_

Yes, that's right. Bagheera was smoking now! No, even better—he was on fire!

The young panther had gotten a big head-start thanks to the shortcuts he'd used. He'd neglected to mention to the girl-bear that he'd already been on slides like this one before, even though those hadn't been as large. All the same, he'd used that experience to cut around the longer pathways...and it couldn't have worked more beautifully!

Unbeknownst to Bagheera, however, Rebecca had already beaten him to the end, unknowing of the shortcuts she had used herself—and she and the other cubs weren't the only ones waiting for him either.

Bagheera didn't see the crocodile until he was only two feet away from the slide's end, the reptile's malicious smirk almost visible.

When he finally caught sight of those menacing, jaundiced eyes, the panther felt both his eyes and mouth widen in pure terror the moment he discovered the fate that awaited him. He immediately and desperately tried and tried to get a grip on the dirt to slow his speed. His efforts worked to some extent, but they weren't enough to stop his descent altogether.

He started to shake his head, denying what was about to happen, horrified that his life would end this way.

"Oh no..."

His head-shaking became harder and faster. His eyes grew wider...

"No."

With no more friction for his paws to save him, he emerged, just above the gaping maw...

"No!"

And fell.

"Nonononononononooooooooo—"

Just before something knocked into the panther in midair, practically knocking the wind out of him!

"Got ya!"

All of a sudden, Bagheera felt the wind whipping against his face. He had already closed his eyes, certain the croc would have had him, but opened his eyes back up a few seconds later, realizing that he'd just been saved instead—but by who? He got his answer the second he turned his head to see none other than...

"R-R-Rebecca!?"

The young sow spared him a brief glance and a smug grin. She had one hand still on the vine while the other cradled the panther around his chest. "The one and only!"

"Y—you...you saved me?"

"Well, you're still alive, aren't ya?" the sow smartly returned.

"But—but...what about the way I treated you?"

"As far as I'm concerned, no one deserves to be croc food...," Rebecca playfully narrowed her eyes in gentle rebuke, "although you _could_ have been a little nicer."

A deep blush bled through the panther's cheeks at that answer. This girl had some heart of gold rescuing him, even after the nasty attitude he gave her. Bagheera tried to ignore his embarrassment by directing attention onto a different matter.

"So...what now?"

Rebecca lost her grin and darted her eyes to and fro. She was lost for answers at this point. "Uh..."

"Please don't say 'uh'," the panther pleaded in worry, "There's never good news when someone says that!"

"I'm working on it. I'm working on it," the sow hastily assured.

Bagheera looked back (or at least turned his head back to his front). He instantly wished he didn't. "Well, you better work on it faster!"

Rebecca gasped when she looked back, too. Bagheera was right. The croc was gaining on them fast, and their vine wouldn't keep its momentum forever. Already Rebecca could feel the vine starting to slack in speed.

_'We need to land somewhere that croc can't reach!'_ the bearess thought in desperation, her eyes shooting back to the nearing, sandy shore. But all of the tree branches hung over the water and the croc would just jump at them if they landed too close to the shoreline.

Rebecca widened her eyes when an idea finally struck her. With a determined face, she shouted, "On the count of three, Bagheera, we jump into those bushes! Then we run...fast!"

"What?!" the addressed shouted back incredulously, "That's it?!"

_'Well, I never said I'd come up with a __**foolproof**__ plan.'_ The bearess gave him a hard glower that stated there'd be no room for further argument. "Just trust me!"

Bagheera rolled his eyes skyward once he realized the strength of Rebecca's resolve. "I was afraid you were gonna say that," he moaned.

"One. Two. Three!"

Together, the panther and the sow leapt into the bushes as planned, the croc's gaping jaws missing them by a long shot. The two cubs, rather than running away, instead ended up tumbling down a mini-slide the bushes had been concealing, the duo disappearing too quickly to catch the look of outrage on the crocodile's face before it huffed and crawled back into the water. Screaming all the way down, Rebecca and Bagheera shielded their eyes against the crowded branches and leaves they crashed through before they eventually burst into a clearing, grunting when they hit solid ground.

"OOF!"

A few moments of silence passed over the two animals that had just landed on their stomachs, covered in dirt, their bodies recovering from the rough landing...before Bagheera eventually broke the quiet with a pained groan, rubbing his aching noggin as he did.

"Ugh, my head."

"Ugh, my everything," Rebecca numbly added as she slowly got up on her haunches, rubbing her arms to ease the discomfort down, "Bagheera?"

The panther followed suit, dazedly sitting up onto his backside as well, while shifting his tired eyes to the sow. "Yeah, Rebecca?"

In spite of the recent near-death experience, Rebecca dared a playful grin. "I think I speak for the both of us when I say: you and I are definitely off of slides for a while."

Maybe there still lay some adrenaline in Bagheera from the escape; maybe he still felt too elated to be alive to even care; or maybe he was finally starting to appreciate the new girl's daredevil attitude. In any case, the cub couldn't help laughing like a hyena at Rebecca's lighthearted suggestion.

"You can say _that_ again!"

* * *

"I swear he was so close, we could almost smell his rancid, dead-meat breath!" Rebecca opened her mouth nice and wide to give her enraptured audience a clear visual of the beast as she sat Indian-style next to Louie's throne. Evening was about to start and the entire gang had just returned from their search-and-rescue. "And we could practically see ourselves in his razor-sharp teeth, too! He thought he had us after he jumped, but we were too fast for that scaly slowpoke! Right, Bagheera?"

"Uh, yeah, yeah," Bagheera, lying flat on his stomach next to the bearess, hurriedly responded the second he realized Rebecca was talking to him, "and he shot at us like a, uh... a man's spear!"

"And his eyes shone like evil moons," the sow stated in a hushed voice, "cruel and savage!"

Shere Khan, who was resting on top of a nearby stone beam somewhere above Haiti's head, rolled his eyes at Rebecca's exaggerations. "We know, you two," he interrupted in a dry tone, "We were there."

Baloo waved a hand at the tiger dismissively from his place beside Haiti. "Aw, lay offa 'em, Khannie, no shame in jazzing a story up a bit."

"I don't know, Baloo," Kaa piped up, his body coiled around the same pillar Khan was on, "It already looked pretty exciting from where _we_ were."

"Oh sure, if you don't mind a near brush with death," Haiti retorted with a peeved expression—his way of showing concern, "you two scared the nightlights inta us!" He shook his head the second he realized his phrasing mistake. "I mean—you two scared the daylights outta us!"

"Hey," Bagheera retorted in defense at the elephant sitting across from him, "it's not like one of us would have expected a croc to try to make a meal out of us."

"Yeah, don't be a baby, Haiti. What's the point of living in a jungle without a little danger every now and then?"

That comeback got the boys, even Khan, staring at Rebecca in rock-silent shock. The quiet didn't last long, though, because Baloo soon smirked at the girl-cub's wit and remarked, "Alright, who are you and what did you do with Becky?"

He got a slap on the arm for that quip—from a smirking Rebecca, as a matter of fact, "Very funny, Baloo. All I did was a good deed. Do I _need _a reason to help someone?"

"Speaking of deeds," Baloo continued, "hey, Baggy, isn't there a certain somethin' you owe a certain someone?"

"What?" Bagheera got the message soon enough after seeing the subtle head-tilts Baloo kept doing in Rebecca's direction.

"Oh! Right...Um, Rebecca..." he started, lowering his head to show humility. "Thanks for, uh, saving my tail out there today...and...I'm sorry about the way I acted earlier. I guess I acted a lot like a jerk."

The bearess set her hands akimbo and thought to herself for a few moments, "Hmm, well," then gave the panther a soft punch to the arm, "You did apologize, so I'll let you off the hook, Baggy. Besides, I think getting your hide saved by a girl is good enough to teach you a lesson."

Louie leapt off of his throne and knuckle-walked to Bagheera after Rebecca spoke, ready to add in his own two cents. "Not to mention that you _do _owe Becky here big time. No offense, Bagheera."

The addressed shook his head in understanding acceptance. "None taken, Louie; in fact...I'd like cash in that owe right now. In case the rest of you guys forgot, this initiation isn't over just yet."

Memories jump-started in a now wide-eyed Rebecca's head at these words. "Oh yeah, I won the race, so that means I get to join!"

Her excitement toned down a degree when Baloo, proudly smiling, put one of his beefy hands on her closest shoulder and quickly stated, "Whoa, there Beckeroni, you're gonna join alright, but first we gotta make your addition to the group official. Baggy, if you please?"

"Rebecca, hold up your left hand please," Bagheera kindly ordered. The young, eager sow followed the directions to the dot. "Do you solemnly vow to uphold the laws and regulations of the Lair?"

A low snort escaped Baloo at the panther's flowery wording. "Man, where does Baggy get this stuff?" he asked under his breath right before Haiti shushed him.

"Yes," Rebecca promptly promised, paying Baloo's wisecrack no mind.

Bagheera did likewise in ignoring the other bear cub and went on unabashed. "Do you vow to stand by your fellow Jungle Cubs in times of danger?"

"Of course," the sow answered again, nodding briskly this time.

"And do you vow to better yourself as a jungle animal and serve as a good role model for the rest of your fellow animals?"

"You bet I do!"

With a heartfelt smile, Bagheera cleared his throat and grandly announced, "Then it is with great honor that I officially bestow upon you, Rebecca, full rights and privileges as a true member of the Lair!"

The entire clubhouse instantly burst into raucous cheer, almost startling Rebecca off of her feet! Before the sow knew what was what, she found herself hoisted on top of Baloo's shoulders, the larger cub parading her around the Lair with the other cubs, minus Khan (who remained in place but tried to hide his ghost of a grin), following in an animal-chain, every single one with a smile on his face.

Needless to say, Rebecca couldn't have asked for a better end to her day.

There was no telling what adventures lay in store for her and her new friends, but one thing was certain: as always, the Jungle Cubs would face the challenges of tomorrow together.

And nothing would ever change that fact.

* * *

**Let's give Beckers here a hand, folks! Fantastic! :D**


End file.
